Foodborne disease rates changed little in 2007

Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy
April 10, 2008

Apr 10, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – The rates of the most common foodborne illnesses in the United States have remained about the same since 2004, pointing to a need for increased efforts to ensure food safety, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.

In 2007, rates of infection with Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, E coli O157, and Yersinia did not decline significantly compared with the previous 3 years, according to data from the CDC's 10-state FoodNet surveillance system, the agency said.

The one exception to the static picture was the parasite Cryptosporidium, for which the estimated incidence of infections was up 44% compared with the 2004-06 period, the CDC said. Officials said the reason may be that a new treatment for the infection is spurring more testing for it.

Although some foodborne infections have declined significantly since surveillance began in 1996, the declines all occurred before 2004, the CDC said in a news release.

"The results show that prevention efforts have been partly successful, but there has been little further progress in the most recent years," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, said in the release.

"That indicates that further measures are needed to keep prevention on a downward track," Tauxe said at a news teleconference today. "The incidence of Salmonella actually has changed very little since those early years."

The FoodNet system compiles data on laboratory-confirmed foodborne illness cases from Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Tennessee, plus parts of California, Colorado, and New York. The system's coverage area includes 45 million people, or about 15% of the US population.

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